Cristiano Ronaldo left OUT of Al-Nassr squad to face Al Riyadh amid transfer frustrations at Saudi Pro League club

Al-Nassr have now confirmed their team for Monday's match and Ronaldo is conspicuous by his absence. The 40-year-old is not even among the substitutes for the match between title-chasing Al-Nassr and Al-Riyadh, who are struggling at the wrong end of the table and start the game in 15th place. Victory in the match will see Al-Nassr move level on points with league leaders Al-Hilal, although they will have played one game more than their title rivals. 

Ronaldo's absence does not come as a great surprise as there had been speculation before the match he was planning to go on strike after being left unhappy with recent events during the January transfer window. According to a report from A Bola, Ronaldo is “unhappy with the way the PIF is managing the club he has represented for three years, especially compared to the treatment given to rival clubs, also managed by the same fund." Ronaldo is also said to be blocking several potential transfers, including a potential move that would see Karim Benzema leave Al-Ittihad for Al-Hilal. This could then lead to a domino effect, meaning N’Golo Kante has been unable to sign for Fenerbahce yet, and Youssef En-Nesyri is still to complete an expected transfer to Al-Ittihad.

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Ronaldo is one of several big names at Al-Nassr alongside the likes of Kingsley Coman, Joao Felix, Sadio Mane and Inigo Martinez. Jorge Jesus added talented youngster Haydeer Abdulkareem to the squad this winter but has admitted he wanted more signings. He said: “I spoke about the winter period. We don’t have any openings for foreign players, and the financial situation at Al-Nassr is not good and doesn’t allow it. I hope that one or two, maybe three players can join us.“

Al-Nassr will want their star man back in action as soon as possible and will surely aim to resolve any issues before Friday's match against Benzema's Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.